- Date
- March 11, 2000, 16:25 local (Mar 12, 2000, 00:25 UTC)
- Place
- Seattle, WA
- Injuries
- 2 minor, 91 uninjured
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N974ASMcDonnell Douglas MD-83
- Weather
- Not reported
- Status
- Completed · report January 2, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20000311003859I
- Case key
- 48832
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the incident.
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Probable cause
The NTSB’s determination of the probable cause, and any contributing factors.
The flight crew's encounter with a suspicious device, which necessitated an emergency evacuation.
Analysis
According to officials from the Federal Aviation Administration, a passenger inadvertently picked up a backpack containing a Modular Bomb System (MBS), a security testing device used for training security personnel. The passenger then boarded the airplane. During climb, a flight attendant discovered the device and reported it to the flight crew. The flight attendant said that there was a bag that looked like a bomb. The captain had the first officer verify the flight attendant's observation. The captain requested an emergency return to Seattle, and asked for emergency equipment to stand by. After landing, the airplane was directed to a remote location and the crew performed the emergency evacuation
Factual narrative
On March 11, 2000, about 1625 Pacific standard time, Alaska Airlines flight 444, a Boeing MD-83, N974AS, operated by Alaska Airlines, Inc., as a 14CFR121 scheduled passenger flight, made an emergency landing at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport after a crew member found a suspicious device located in a passenger's backpack. Two flight crewmembers, three flight attendants. and 86 passengers were not injured; however, two passengers sustained minor injuries during the emergency evacuation. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and an instrument flight plan had been filed for the flight. The flight originated from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, with a planned destination of Ontario, California, approximately 30 minutes prior to the emergency landing.
According to officials from the Federal Aviation Administration, a passenger on flight 444 inadvertently picked up a backpack containing a Modular Bomb System (MBS), a security testing device used for training security personnel. The passenger then boarded the airplane. During climb, a flight attendant discovered the device and reported it to the flight crew. The flight attendant said that there was a bag that looked like a bomb. The captain had the first officer verify the flight attendant's observation. The captain requested an emergency return to Seattle, and asked for emergency equipment to stand by. After landing, the airplane was directed to a remote location and the crew performed the emergency evacuation.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N974AS
- Reported as
- McDonnell Douglas MD-83
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 53450
- Airframe hours
- 21,741
- Engine
- P&W JT8D-217C, 20,850 lbs thrust, turbo jet
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Registered owner
- Alaska Airlines Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · March 13, 2000 · 103 hours before
- Departed
- SEA · WA
- Destination
- ONT · Ontario, CA
- Flight plan
- IFR
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 47
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 11,800 total · 8,347 in this make and model · 6,583 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Not reported
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.